A narrative analysis of how Belgium's "golden generation" of footballers has declined to the point of failing to win any match through two games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, tracing the systematic youth-development origins, the peak years (2014–2018), and the slow unraveling that has left the team caught between rebuilding and clinging to past glory.
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Akshat Mohan of ThePrint delivers a narrative essay on the decline of Belgian men's football, using the team's disappointing start at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the entry point. Belgium, he notes, has drawn both group-stage matches so far — a 1-1 stalemate against Egypt and a tense 0-0 draw against Iran (played with 10 men) — leaving their tournament survival hinging on the final Group G match against New Zealand. The core thesis is that Belgium's greatest footballing era is undergoing a slow, agonizing fade rather than a clean end. Mohan traces the origins of the golden generation to a systematic overhaul of Belgian youth development in the mid-2000s, spearheaded by former Royal Belgian Football Association technical director Michel Sablon. …
Belgium's golden generation of footballers has peaked and is now in decline, as evidenced by their failure to win a game at the 2026 World Cup.
The speaker points to two successive draws (against Egypt and Iran) and the team's ineffective offense as evidence that the era of players like Hazard, De Bruyne, and Kompany is winding down without a major trophy.
Belgium's systematic youth development overhaul (4-3-3 formation mandate and KU Leuven study) was the root cause of their golden generation success.
The speaker explains that Michel Sablon's reforms, including mandating a 4-3-3 formation across all youth teams and the KU Leuven study of 1,500 youth matches, created the shared understanding that produced world-class players like Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Kompany, and Courtois.
Belgium's transition from its golden generation to emerging stars like Jeremy Doku and Nathan Ngoy has been 'clunky' and the team is caught between rebuilding and clinging to the past.
The speaker notes that after iconic figures like Kompany and Hazard retired, the burden fell on aging players, and while Doku and Ngoy have entered the fold, the team has struggled to find its footing.
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